Samantha Grey
Samantha Grey is a half-demon sorceress, daughter of Naomi Grey and the demon Valefar. Appearance Samantha looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. She stands about 5'10", has a pale complexion just shy of an albino's, blood-red eyes and flaming shoulder-length red hair that frames a pair of 1" black horns positioned at the hairline above the outer edges of her eyebrows. The other obvious demonic aspect of her appearance is the 3' long, prehensile black tail that comes out of the base of her spine to a spaded tip. The damnable thing seems to move as if it has a mind of its own, not unlike a cat's though far more nimble and dextrous. Anyone close enough to smell perfume will detect a very faint hint of sulfur in the air around her, but one that is surprisingly not as noxious as might be imagined, a side-effect of demonic pheromones. She has retractable claws on her hands, not much harder or sharper than a cat's, and a pair of elongated and sharp canines on the top row of her teeth, not unlike small vampire's fangs. She is attractive by some standards in a sort of 'sexy librarian' sort of way, as she rarely makes any aggressive attempts to make herself look more sexy, and in fact tries to do what she can to dress in a fairly dumpy and unappealing sort of way. She often dresses in a simple white blouse or t-shirt and jeans with a hole cut out for her tail, sometimes including a trench coat. As a rule, she tries very hard to blend into the background wherever she goes, though she tends to fail quite miserably at this because of her personality. Biology Samantha is a Cambion, the daughter of sexual congress between an Incubus and a human woman. By most standards, the impact of this appears to be cosmetic in nature. She has small horns jutting out of her forehead similar to a goat's and a prehensile tail that can lift about ten pounds. Retractable claws, small fangs and the signs of albinism without the negative side-effects of the condition round out her appearance along with a very slight hint of sulfur in her pheromones. At one point, she also had large black, leathery wings with a 20' wingspan similar to a bat's which connected to joints running up and underneath her shoulder blades. These, however, were lost in the events of the 'Freedom War.' Regardless, it might be easy to assume she is simply a human with a few minor differences at first glance, though the reality is that nothing could be farther from the truth. Samantha bears most of the same organs that a human being does, but there are several key differences in terms of the details. Her endocrine system is significantly altered, particularly in the Hypothalamus and Pituitary Glands. Samantha is completely sterile, incapable of having children, but at the same time hormones are released by her ovaries and Hypothalamus in conjunction that create an over-stimulated and hyper-active libido at points, one that overrides any usual psychological blocks towards self-destructive behavior. These hormones are always, to a lesser extent, present in her bloodstream and pheromones, and reports exist that a cambion's blood and scent can have very lightly addictive properties along with increasing the libido of someone nearby. The presence of these pheromones aids in the process of a cambion's usual predation on unwitting targets, either through exsanguination or other less savory methods. Her digestive system is also considerably more refined than the average human, capable of handling larger amounts of toxins through the kidneys and liver without negative affect to her body. Alcohol, even potentially lethal doses to humans, has considerably less effect on her, almost to the point of being largely useless in getting her intoxicated. She is capable of eating and digesting potentially toxic and far less cooked meats, her body breaking them down more efficiently than humans. Raw blood is especially easily digested with little difficulty and gastrointestinal difficulties are uncommon for cambions. Samantha's musculature and skeleton are also altered from that of a human. Her flesh is more resilient to harm and possesses an alarming level of recuperative ability. Though it may fatigue her and leave her worn and exhausted, Samantha's body can recover from considerable injuries in rapid time compared to humans and without significant scarring. Her flesh, while soft and supple at the skin level, is closer to a consistency of leather and slightly resistant to impact but bears no more mass than a normal human. Her bone structure, on the other hand, is hollow like a bird's, causing her to be considerably lighter than a normal human of her size. This can mean that blood loss is a serious issue, as however efficient her spleen is it cannot handle too high of a blood loss, but it also means that her bones are dense and strong against impact to cope with the hollow spaces that reduce weight. When she still had wings, the original purpose of these hollow bones was obvious, to facilitate winged flight. Since then it merely proves to be a biological curiosity. 'Personality' Dominant Personality Samantha's personality can be labeled quite easily as 'prickly.' The most common words used to describe her at times are "Defensive, Stubborn, Evasive, Humorless, Aggressive, Stand-offish, Self-Centered and Obsessive." On the surface, almost all of these words are fairly accurate. Samantha is intentionally stand-offish towards people who she does not trust trying to get close to her without some sort of common connection. She can be outright rude to people who push for closer ties, and tends to try to keep others at arm's length. She dislikes being touched, prefers to keep relationships strictly professional, can be almost violent in her reactions to attempts to flirt with her and growls and snarls quite frequently. Her tendency to misinterpret almost any sort of negative feedback as being entirely about her, and her general attitude that the world's problems revolve around her give Samantha a very self-centered attitude that can be off-putting to those who do not understand why she thinks the way that she does. For the most part, her shallow surface personality is both real and also a front to keep people at a distance. Underneath her bullish and tomboyish demeanor, Samantha is wracked with massive degrees of self-loathing and a significant amount of hatred and obsession for her father, Valefar. She spends the latter portion of her teen years struggling with the demonic urges and hormones that plague her mind, along with a series of demonic spirits infused into her after her mother's death by Valefar to further attempt to corrupt her. She has suffered greatly at his hands, beyond what most people have ever been forced to endure. It has made her both very strong-willed and also extremely brittle when the right motivator strikes against her. She lashes out because she fears that her 'demonic half' will awaken when she is close to someone and cause them considerable physical harm, potentially rape them and even possibly kill them. It has happened on several occasions, and waking up from a fugue state covered in blood from a person she had tried to make friends with has left her undesiring of human contact. She prefers to be left alone and considers herself to be a monster. At the same time, while she doesn't wish to harm people, she has been alone for too long since her mother's death and craves human contact, contact she doesn't think she can safely have or deserve. It makes it hard for her to resist that closeness when people press her. Samantha's Sexuality, as a result of this self-loathing and muddled demonic hormones, is a terrible mess. Intellectually, she is asexual and finds her libido to be a disgusting and revolting sign of her demonic nature as a cambion. Because her father is an incubus, she displays similar personality traits in terms of her libido. This causes her to be omnisexual biologically and to experience a biological attraction for anything living that she can perform a sexual act with. Samantha spends most of her time when interacting with people at least partially controlling and dampening that personality trait, resulting in a considerable amount of discomfort when interacting with people as a general rule. If someone manages to break past her gruff exterior and the considerable layers of personal issues that she has to begin getting closer, they can find a few aspects of her personality that reveal that she is more than simply a ball of uncomfortable personal problems. Samantha, for example, does have a sense of humor, though it is a dark and gallows-themed sort of thing, afflicted by the horrors she's seen. She finds the oddest things funny, and is the sort of person to laugh at a funeral or some other completely inappropriate occasion because, to her, death itself is almost comical. She is a very intellectual person deep down, and while she is not by any stretch a genius, she is well read and fascinated by topics of philosophy, theology, alchemy, chemistry, medicine, herbal remedies, the study of magic and classical literature. She is an avid reader and frequently writes or draws in field journals. She has a penchant for what are usually considered self-destructive behaviors (such as smoking and drinking), as her body can generally tolerate them better than most and she enjoys being able to revel in them. She despises crowds and avoids them, and while she will train for physical combat, she is not a particular lover of physical activity, preferring intellectual pursuits. She has a particular loathing for the Christian religion and makes few bones about her attitudes towards it, being herself a devout worshiper of the Celtic Gods (who she frequently refers to as the "Kings Under the Hill."). When Samantha develops any form of bond, she displays a considerable amount of loyalty. However, she is by her nature a very self-serving woman. While she might risk life and limb for a friend, as she does not fear for her own life because of her father's interventions, anything which imperils her mortal soul is something that she rarely is willing to allow. Imprisonment, too, is a thing that she is rarely willing to risk. Still, she will go to great lengths to help those she cares about, simply because of the rarity of that fact. On the subject of Love, Samantha has developed a near complete loathing. She is intensely jealous of those who are successful at romantic relationships and tends not to enjoy observing their behavior save at a distance. She does not believe that love has any place for her, and the only sort of romantic relationship she seems to be able to hold with any success is one that is based more upon an antagonistic rivalry, more of a "hateship" than a traditional romantic entanglement. She appears able to keep her darker nature more in check in rivalry-centered relationships, as the competitive and oftentimes violent interactions appease her demonic side while allowing her to get closer to a person emotionally. A side effect of this is that rivalry is one of the only truly consistent and effective ways to get to know her on a close, personal basis beyond basic friendship. Over time, Samantha has begun to open up somewhat to human contact since her mother's death. It has been a slow process, one that is hampered by frequent demonic episodes that limit her ability to maintain friendships. But, because she has been forced more or less into the open through events in the Deviant Universe and the Asgard Eventide story-arcs, she cannot escape a need to interact with others, and as such many of her worst traits have been slightly, but not completely, mitigated. Secondary, "Demonic" Personality Due to the presence of her demonic hormones and the influence of her father's magic in her life, Samantha possesses a semi-split in her psyche. It does not actually qualify as a second personality, such as in cases of Multiple Personality Disorder, but is more accurately termed a Psychotic Break that is fueled by a major hormonal imbalance. During these times, elements of Samantha's personality that she is normally able to more or less control rise to the forefront and take over, dominating her actions. One of the only 'cures' within her own system is a significant dosage of testosterone, frequently released during aggressive and violent confrontations along with adrenaline. This mitigates her hormonal imbalances, and is one of the biological reasons why 'rivalry' based romantic liaisons tend to be more 'safe' than non. As a rule, these hormonal imbalances are a mixture of lunar-cycle based and arousal-based. When she is sexually stimulated, the output of her body's demonically-charged hormones is significantly increased. Similarly, during the 'new moon' portion of the lunar cycle, it is further advanced. At times, the overwhelming psychological impact of these hormones hits a critical point, causing a psychotic break. These breaks generally last anywhere from one hour to twenty-four hours. Samantha's personality during a psychotic break displays a complete lack of ethical or personal restraint, along with no impulse control. Every urge that she feels at the time, she acts upon without hesitation, however violent or depraved it might be. Who she targets does not matter to her, however much she cares about them. If anything, she displays an active willingness to abuse those who trust her and relishes shattering long-standing taboos with particularly horrific behavior. This complete lack of self-control is combined with a truly fiendish level of possessiveness and self-centeredness, mingled with the urges of a predator that uses sex as a weapon to hunt down and incapacitate prey. She becomes bored easily and is prone to lashing out with ease at anyone that is convenient. There is literally no limit to what this side of her personality is capable of. As a general rule, Samantha is aware of her actions in both personality states. Neither truly views the other as a different person, though they will occasionally refer to them as such. Her 'other half' focuses a great deal on tormenting her during other periods through her actions while active, ostensibly to further corrupt her base nature and make it easier to be in these states more often. Ethics & Religion In following with the traditions of her mother's practices, she is a relatively devout worshiper of the Celtic Gods, along with a veneration of the the Tuatha de Danaan of ancient Irish myth, though also splicing in Gaulic and Welsh deity names as well. She is something of a reconstructionalist of Druidic practices, but does not consider herself to be a priestess of the Druid faith and so has kept her capturing of what she and her mother term the "Old Ways" to personal observation and prayer. The majority of her prayers are to the gods Nodens, Ogma and Gwydion, and her focus is on Ogma/Ogham as a general rule. She has only a minimal familiarity with the formal religious practices of these old cults and maintains them as closely as possible, displaying an avid interest in learning about these old religious practices. Samantha's attitude towards other religions is fairly unbiased and unconcerned, so long as they are not Judeo-Christian in origin. Her father, Valefar, derives most of his history and nature from the Judeo-Christian mythologies and makes considerable references to it when contacting her. She has also had at least one very violent run in with inquisitors of the Catholic Church, leaving a very negative impression of their practices. These facts, in combination with her familiarity with the Christian concept of hell from at least one entry into that realm of her own free will, has led her to display an outright hatred of the Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian and Islamic faiths. She does not crusade against them, and actively prefers to avoid discussions about their religious practices. However, the contempt she holds for their religion is unmistakable and unavoidable once she speaks about it. The basic structure of Samantha's ethics surrounds that which she considers to be beneficial and not harmful towards herself, while at the same time doing so without causing active harm to the needs of others. She, however, makes little to no claims about what others can and will do, and tends to display a cynical suspicion towards their behavior, assuming that they will also do what is best for them, but not necessarily with her needs in mind. Overall, her practices lack a great deal of formalized education in philosophical terms. While she has studied some philosophy as part of her reading while a child, it has always been without any serious normative comparisons. To a very loose extent, her ethics bear a striking similarity to “Thelema,” the philosophical practice of Aleister Crowley. This plays out, at least in part, in the sense that she agrees with four core tenets of the “Book of the Law.” -Duty to Self: For Samantha, talk of “True Will” common to Crowley's teachings is largely ignored, and she is not so explicitly egocentric. However, she does attempt to develop herself in every fashion and focus upon protecting her autonomy, seeking her own role in the world. -Duty to Others: Here, she falls more clearly in line with Thelemite practices. She generally prefers not to interfere with others' walks in life and leaves them to their devices, so long as they are not interfering in her own walk of life, or in others, at which point she becomes abrasive and belligerent, and will defend (even violently) the freedom and liberty of others where it does not infringe upon another person's. -Duty to Mankind: While not quite as rigid as Crowley's perspective, she generally agrees with the idea that the liberty of all is something to protect, with the understanding that those who abuse it at the cost of others require punishment. She tends to view a lot of western law to be “Silly” and “Invasive.” -Duty to All Other Beings and Things: The sense of Reciprocity inherent in Crowley's attitudes is one Samantha holds fairly closely. When one wastes or wantonly destroys, it should or will come back to haunt them. Resources are meant to be used, but not wantonly, and things are not meant to be used in a fashion for which they're unfit. However, as long as the fitness of an action can be determined and there's no harm to another's own will, she sees no problem with it. Samantha does not specifically follow Thelema in any sort of explicit fashion, and if asked about Aleister Crowley in particular, tends to respond in a somewhat negative fashion. It is not from an outright disagreement with his practices so much as a general personal attitude towards what she knows of him from biographies. She does not ascribe to any of the explicit metaphysical teachings of Thelemite gods or hegemony, nor would she use the term Thelemite. Powers & Abilities Skills #Alchemist/Herbalist/Pharmacologist/Field Medic - Samantha was trained from an early age in the arts of herbal remedies, homeopathic medicine, alchemy and the brewing of various medicines and poisons. She developed a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all natural and most magical poisons of Earth-origin. In addition, upon entering the "Asgard Eventide," she became equally familiar with similar substances in that reality and a collection of 'imported' materials from other realities. She demonstrated significant ingenuity in using both natural and magically-active reagents to produce unique alchemical concoctions. In general, while she held no formal education, she was reasonably trained to about the point of an Associates Degree in the study of homeopathic medicine and Chemical/Alchemical Research and continued to develop upon this through unlicensed field study afterwards. #Lies/Deception/Stealth - Through a combination of a cambion's natural propensity towards lies and guile along with the necessity of life alone on the open road, fleeing the depridations of her father's attention, Samantha developed considerable skill in the field of subterfuge, stealth, sneaking and general lies. By the same token, she has an equal skill in deciphering the lies of others. #Arcane/Natural/Religious Lore - Samantha's main fields of study during her time being home-schooled by her mother were 'arcane' in nature. She was trained in magic derived from a mixture of Thelemite practice and ancient Druidic Lore. As a result of her education, she developed considerable skills and familiarity with Nature, Druidic practice, the worship of the Celtic Gods and their mythology, Magical theory and Thelemite lore. She has a more than passing familiarity with Judeo-Christian theology, mythology and lore, along with a decent familiarity with most world religions and philosophies. #Seduction - While she would never admit to this, and actively makes an effort to try and reduce her sex appeal through difficult personality traits, Samantha has a natural knack and familiarity with sexual desire, and is able to 'pour on the charm,' when she truly wishes to do so. Most of this, however, is more from a natural animal magnetism than it is from active, well-trained skill, a fact that is very visible at times. Puppetry Referred to as "Body Control," a unique power Samantha acquired while in the "Asgard Eventide." Due to the influence of her patron deity, Hel, she possessed the ability to exert mystical control over sentient and non-sentient lifeforms, extending her own will to take over their bodies. Her skill and potency with this reached a point where she could exert this influence at a range of about 500'. She was able to maintain control over up to three weak-willed or non-sentient creatures at a time, or one stronger-willed creature. The stronger the will of the creature, the more of a struggle it was to maintain this control. In order to invoke her abilities, Samantha required line of sight to initiate control, frequently reaching out with her hands in a gesture similar to a puppetmaster manipulating invisible strings to control a marionette. Once control was established, she could perceive the world through the target's senses and could maintain control to a variable degree, acting through their bodies while still maintaining a limited sensation and control of her own body at the same time, something that was initially very mentally jarring when she would control multiple targets. She could maintain control for a variable time before exhausting herself, dependent upon how many targets and how strongly they struggled against her will, but never was able to get a clear idea of exactly how long. Potions Samantha's skill in alchemy and magic is expansive enough that, through infusion of magical energy and alchemically active ingredients, she is able to produce potions. Each of these potions are similar to magical spells stored inside of bottles, and are capable of producing poisonous effects, hexes, bolster the abilities of others and mystically cure individuals. While not necessarily as potent or long lasting as her actual spells, they are able to be stored and used by others at a later date. Samantha's potions are many and varied. Most that bolster another's abilities or give some beneficial effect last for about ten minutes before wearing off. Those that are meant to cause harm to another last for about the same time if meant to 'hex' or weaken them, and behave like amplified and more aggressive poisons in the case of magical poisons. Curatives have their effect almost immediately, provided that they are able to heal the person from the harm that they were designed to solve. Magic WIP Category:Characters History Birth and Childhood WIP Intervention of Valefar-The Seeds of Evil WIP Animositas-The Seed of Wrath WIP Avaritia-The Seed of Greed WIP Superbia-The Seed of Pride WIP Luxus-The Seed of Lust WIP The Asgard Eventide-An Unexpected Interlude WIP Invidia-The Seed of Envy WIP Redundo-The Seed of Gluttony WIP Diffido-The Seed of Sloth/The Fall of Valefar WIP Return to the Asgard Eventide-Unfinished Business WIP Relationships Family WIP The Deviant Universe WIP The Asgard Eventide WIP Category:Characters